Forgive a bit of self promo... I've been chosen among a few others to be a tester for a new cheese in development by Jasper Hill (maker of Harbison, Bayley Hazen Blue, Winnimere, Moses Sleeper and Constant Bliss). I'll be blogging my impressions of the various samples for Culture Magazine and their 2012 Birth of a Cheese event. I'll cross post on my blog (in my sig below).

+1. I'm really impressed with what you have done with your interest. Very cool. Do you have plans to ruin (!) it by becoming professional in some capacity, or are you looking to remain an amateur in the best sense of the word?

Small rant: I wish amateur was used correctly in our country. It's such a wonderful word to describe somebody like CG and his cheese.

I would like to own a shop someday... but having done the restaurant biz off and on in my youth, I know how crazy that is. But my biz plan is rooted as much in generating an eat local economy for regional artisan and farmstead makers as it is retail. I don't, as yet. have the capital.

That said- I was just promoted in my current job, eliminating any need to manage people, get to focus on ONE project instead of the 21 in my portfolio and may get to go to London a few times a year... at my age, it's an anchor hard to rid.

My monger wasn't elated with this batch. He wanted it to be more "succulent". It was from December, so the silage the cows ate gave it a lot of funk and gaminess, which I usually like, but this kind of left the taste of ammonia in my mouth. Not sure if that's how Stichelton is supposed to be, but it definitely wasn't what I was expecting.

A tiny bit of ammonia is normal, it's a by-product of mold. Spring milkings, I suspect, would be creamier but I cannot say from experience. Stichelton is a more complex beast than Stilton- a result of the raw milk for starters... they use real rennet, too.
I don't know for certain but have heard that he's fiddling with the recipe a bit.

Yes. He said they've been fiddling. I did get an understanding of what Stichelton is from the one taste I had. Definitely more complex. Not sure how much I liked the gassiness of it, but I might want to buy it and try it a few more times to gain an appreciation.